Shopping for a vehicle can be an arduous process, but if you want to save money, it’s worth your while to look into buying a used vehicle.
Money expert Clark Howard is a strong proponent of buying used cars.
But which used vehicles give you the most bang for your buck?
Which Used Cars Should You Buy Over New Ones?
Vehicle research website iSeeCars.com recently released a report that shows which cars you should buy used instead of new. The verdict? Lightly used luxury vehicles may give you the best value.
That squares with Clark’s view:
“I’ve had an obsession forever about why buying a used vehicle is so much better for your wallet than buying new,” he says. “There are a lot of people who love that new vehicle smell; they want that new vehicle. And if it works for you financially that’s fine. But for most people, buying used is going to be a much better choice.”
To come up with its results, iSeeCars analyzed the prices of 1.6 million new and used cars that were purchased between January and March 2024.
Here are some key findings from the report:
- The average lightly used car that is one-year-old costs 12.8% – $5,778 – less than its new version.
- The Mercedes-Benz EQS loses over 47% of its value – $65,000 – below its new-car price tag after just one year.
- Led by the Nissan LEAF, which is the second in terms of lost value after one year, eight out of the 20 best cars to buy used are electric vehicles.
Ready to see which used vehicles give you the best value compared to new ones? Let’s take a look at our list ranked by percentage.
Buy These Cars Used vs. New
| Models | % Price Difference vs. New | Dollar Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz EQS | -47.8% | -$65,143 |
| Nissan LEAF | -45.7% | -$15,786 |
| Jaguar F-PACE | -35.4% | -$28,555 |
| Alfa Romeo Giulia | -33.4% | -$16,297 |
| Kia EV6 | -33.3% | -$18,081 |
| Hyundai IONIQ 5 | -32.9% | -$16,805 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | -32.9% | -$15,609 |
| Alfa Romeo Stelvio | -32.3% | -$17,495 |
| Nissan Murano | -32.0% | -$13,842 |
| Mercedes-Benz S-Class | -31.5% | -$45,781 |
From the list above, you can see that car shoppers who choose to go with a one-year-old version of the model they like can reap huge savings. But Clark wants you to save even more.
He recommends that you look to buy a used vehicle that is around three years old.
“When you buy a vehicle that’s three years old, the general back-of-the-envelope rule is that it would have lost roughly a third of its value,” Clark says. “Some models, substantially more than that, others a little less. But generally, about a third of the value has been wiped out in those first three years.”
As an example, if you’re looking at a new vehicle that costs $20,000, a three-year-old model should generally allow you to deduct about $6,666 from its price tag.
Of course, there are more factors to consider when shopping for a vehicle.
Interested in more tips? Here’s how to buy a used car.
